"Another song?"
The boy looked back at me and scoffed.
"Even if it doesn't burst my eardrums, it seems like it can put me to sleep? Like the devil."
"No, it's just a regular song... But my mom says that she can fall asleep whenever she listens to my song."
I was confident in this, so this time I didn't give in to the laughter and insisted once more.
"You saved my life, but there's nothing I can do about it... No, can't you just lie down? I'll keep watch tonight."
"You're persistent."
The boy closed his eyes tightly. He said he didn't need to sleep, but he seemed to be tired. It was only natural since he hadn't slept at all for three days. I insisted a little more forcefully.
"Go over there and lie down. Please."
In the end, I managed to force the boy to lie down. Lying flat on his back, the boy looked up at me blankly. As his pretty eyes, like a bright red ruby brooch, turned to me, my small heart began to beat at a strange pace. I cleared my throat slightly and opened my mouth.
A moonlit night, a starry night.
His ruby-like eyes widened a little. I really didn't expect my song to have some great power and magically put him to sleep. But if I closed my eyes and listened to the calm melody, wouldn't my fatigue be relieved rather than just standing guard?
With that prayer, I continued to sing.
Close my eyes and quietly, follow the starlight path to find my dreams...
This was a lullaby that my maternal grandfather had made for me.
Although I was the one who sang the song the most, my mother was the one listening and twitched the tip of my nose a little. I wanted to see my mother and my grandfather.
Tears were about to spill out, but I held them back and continued to sing.
Singing dancing with the fairies, following the moonlight to find my dreams...
I, who had been singing softly, suddenly opened my eyes wide. The boy's eyes had already closed.
I smiled faintly the regular breathing.
***
It was in midwinter. The daytime when the sun was shining was bearable, but from the evening onwards it was so cold that I had to shiver and curl up. From the fifth day onwards, my legs had stiffened and I couldn't walk properly. When I saw the boy limping and falling, I clicked my tongue and bent down.
"Carry me."
"Ugh..."
My mouth was frozen, so I couldn't even speak properly. In the end, I was carried on the boy's back, so I tried to keep my wits about me. However, contrary to my thoughts, my eyes kept nodding shut. Even though I was being carried by someone else, my breathing became rapid, like someone running. I heard a sigh from the back I was carrying.
"Hypothermia and malnutrition?... Hey. Don't lose your mind."
"..."
"If you lose it now, you'll never wake up again."
"Ugh..."
Thanks to the boy's constant talking, I was able to regain my senses a little.
"Do something you're good at... I mean, singing."
Those words dug into my ears like a spell. I stammered and opened my lips to start singing.
Moonlight, bright night... Starry night.
Holding onto the melody, I forced myself to gather my hazy mind. It was while I was quietly reciting the lyrics.
"I'll take back the fact that I laughed at you before."
A blunt voice came from the body carrying me.
"You can go around and say that it's your specialty... I mean, singing."
I opened my eyes slightly wide, then smiled bashfully and leaned my cheek against the boy's back.
"Yeah."
A small whisper escaped my mouth.
"I will."
The fever was getting worse. Every time I opened my mouth, I could feel the hot breath flowing out. It wasn't just hot breath that was flowing out. Nonsense was also continuously flowing out. It was evidence that my brain was being crushed by the high fever, but I didn't know it at the time.
"You know... I have a dream."
I muttered strange things again, feeling uneasy. Even in my daze, what was strange was that the boy who I thought would ignore me if I talked nonsense was answering me every time.
"What is it?"
Although it was a very short and blunt answer.
"What is it? If I make music, I want to have a space where people can sing and dance to it."
A smile formed on my face as I mentioned my old dream.
"Actually, it's my maternal grandfather's space, and it looks really nice every time I go there. But it's my brother's... My father always says that a family business is inherited by a man."
"..."
"So I have my own, that... that..."
As I was nodding and about to lose consciousness, I heard a soft voice.
"Opera house."
"Oh... Yes. I want an opera house. And the name... I've decided on a really cool one."
I whispered with a bashful smile. It was a word I learned from looking through the dictionary, but I wanted to use it here, so I saved it until now.
"...I'll name it Paradise. What do you think?"
"Well."
The boy shrugged his shoulders slightly.
"It's rustic."
Despite the indifferent answer, I smiled and said it was good. It was a dream I had never told my grandfather or my mother. My heart pounded strangely when I told it to someone else for the first time.
"But, brother... what's your name?"
"You ask so quickly, don't you?"
Well, it seemed like he would never tell me. But surprisingly, the boy answered obediently.
"Dante Heigenberg."
"... Wow, that's a difficult name."
Dante. I rolled the name around in my mouth. It was a pretty name. I couldn't say exactly what was good about it, but I liked the way it rolled around in my mouth.
"I'll remember."
"If you have a conscience, you should remember. The name of the benefactor who suffered so much."
Yes. If you have a conscience, you should remember.
Even if be didn't say it like that, it was such a pretty name that I wouldn't be able to forget it.
Dante. I kept pronouncing the name. I liked it, after all. It was similar to Andante...
"Get up. Just get over the hill and you'll reach the main road. From there, you can catch a carriage... What is your name?"
"My name, Lili..."
"No, tell me your full name. You're a noblewoman. There must be a mansion named after your family."
Dante urged me to tell him my name because he was going to throw it in front of him.
"Lopez. Ariana... Lopez".
"Ariana Lopez."
A soft voice muttered my name. After that, my consciousness became intermittent. Every time I woke up from the hazy fever, my mind became more and more hazy.
"... Where am I?"
"We're really almost there now."
My vision changed quickly every time I slowly closed and opened my eyes. Every time that happened, my mind kept mixing up like dough.
Blink.
Where am I and why is it so cold?
Blink.
Where is my mother?
Blink.
Grandpa said I would be able to sing at the palace today. Was that today?
And then blink, blink...
Suddenly, I opened my eyes and found a boy carrying me. I asked absentmindedly,
"Who are you, brother...?"
Who could this boy be? How can someone look so doll-like?
My mother said I was the prettiest in the world, but she probably said that because she couldn't see his face...
Blink.
And then I completely lost consciousness.
"Ah..."
Tears fell to the floor. I held my chest and let out a gasp of breath, and a rough voice was heard.
"Ariana. Ariana!"
The hand that was gripping my shoulder was large and firm. I blankly raised my head and looked at the owner of the hand. Those eyes were as red as blood, but at the same time, as pretty as rubies. How could I have forgotten until now?
"I remember... I remember. Everything."
Dante's eyes widened. After that, when I woke up, I couldn't remember anything. I couldn't even remember that my mother and grandfather had passed away, so I had to lie down sick again after hearing that the funeral had already been held.
"Why didn't you tell me? Unlike me, the Duke remembers from the beginning."
I met Dante's eyes and continued, panting as if sobbing.
"You remembered everything from the beginning."
Dante, who was looking at me with hardened eyes, let out a low laugh.
"What's so pretty about pretending to know first?"
He whispered in my ear in an accusing voice.
"You're the one who forgot so shamefully."
At that moment, a memory from before I died suddenly came to mind.
"Ariana Lopez."
When I was a foolish Marchioness Pedegreen, Dante was the only one who called me by my maiden name.
"Have you thought about my offer?"
"... Duke."
"It won't be a bad amount. Now, come over. I told you. Your talents don't deserve this kind of treatment."
At that time, Dante Heigenberg was a strange and odd figure to me. It wasn't just because Edward would slander Dante and his Paradise whenever he had the chance. It wasn't just because that man was the only one who knew without a second thought that I was the real composer of the Lopez Opera House.
"I'm sorry, Duke. I really appreciate the offer, but I can't betray my husband and family."
"Why can't you?"
Dante said, tilting his head sadly.
"I thought being ungrateful was your specialty."
"...Yes?"
The biggest reason Dante was a strange person to me was because he would come to me out of the blue and say strange things.
"Come to me now. Ariana Lopez, who doesn't know gratitude"
...At the time, I interpreted those words strangely.
'I guess he meant that it was a great favor that he recognized me.'
It wasn't unreasonable to think that way since he would wave a check with an absurdly large amount written on it every time he came to visit. It was a great favor for the Duke of Heigenberg to treat a woman no one knew with that much value. However, that wasn't the case. The 'favor' he was talking about wasn't just that.
I took a deep breath and looked straight at Dante, who was standing in front of me now, not in the past.
"I'm sorry for forgetting you so easily. And."
Then I said the greeting I should have said a long time ago.
"Thank you. For saving me. I won't forget you again."
"..."
His red eyes slowly widened, and after a moment, a dark heat settled inside them.
"Yes. I saved you."
A smile appeared on his elegant lips. It was a smile filled with deep satisfaction. Dante took my hand and entangled his fingers with mine.
Slowly and respectfully as if checking the possessions he had taken into his grasp. The back of my neck flinched as his rough fingertips brushed my delicate fingers. I swallowed my breath as he pressed his lips down on the back of my hand.
A warm sensation burned like a small flame on the back of my hand and spread to my heart.
"You are the only one I saved."
He whispered as if branding me with sound.
"Never forget me again."
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